Common sense would dictate that a drama about racism in the American Deep South in the 1960s would probably not be a big hit in Asia. But that sort of thinking is exactly why I write about movies for a living and don’t work at a major distributor. Because here we are, almost a full week after “Green Book” debuted in China, and it’s turned into a runaway hit in the region.
Last weekend, the Oscar-winning film, starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, debuted in third place in China with a weekend total of $17.2 million (via THR). The only films that did better business in the territory are the animated juggernaut “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” and the massive “Alita: Battle Angel” with $33 million and $24 million respectively. But here’s where things get really interesting.
You see, after the massive opening weekend (already grossing more than the Chinese total of $16.6 million for last year’s Best Picture winner, Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water”), word of mouth caught fire in China, leading “Green Book” to vault to #1 in the region for Monday. As of yesterday, the film has already earned $25 million. We know the Chinese market loves robots, superheroes, and anything with explosions, but apparently, they also love controversial racial dramas. Who knew?
And the Oscar fun in China is expected to keep on rolling after it was announced that “Roma” has secured approval for its very own Chinese theatrical run (via Variety). Someone let Steven Spielberg know, ok? Alfonso Cuaron’s Oscar-winning, Spanish-language, black and white, period drama about a housekeeper in Mexico has been the subject of a ton of controversy in the last week, as the aforementioned Spielberg is reportedly making moves to ensure that Netflix films don’t earn Oscars in the future. Why does the legendary filmmaker have a beef with Cuaron’s epic? Well, Spielberg feels as if streaming films should be classified as “TV movies.” Sure, we see his argument, but he can’t deny that Netflix and Cuaron are doing everything in their power to make sure “Roma” has a worldwide theatrical run, including in the massive Chinese market.
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Regardless of the distribution controversy, “Roma” is clearly hoping to earn some of that “Green Book” money, as the audience who sees one Oscar winner is likely going to be interested in the other. The really interesting aspect to this news is the fact that Netflix won’t actually handle the distribution in China, and thus, we might actually get some hard box office numbers from the film, which up until now has had its earnings shrouded in that pesky Netflix secrecy dome. Or whatever magic it uses.
No release date in China has been set for “Roma,” but perhaps this film and “Green Book” are ushering in a new era of Chinese distribution where the country doesn’t just get our action films, but also some prestige dramas, as well.